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The assertion that Christianity teaches Socialism is elegantly refuted here:
It isn’t generosity when you give away the money of othersThe next step after this is to realize that the Gospels are equally a foreign policy tract, which is to say, not even slightly.
Thanks for the link! I see this over and over in Liberal politics and Liberal religion. (Is there a difference?)
ReplyDeleteA Methodist leader actually claimed that the health care bill -- which includes taxpayer funded abortions -- is an application of the story of the Good Samaritan. This guy considers himself the hero of the story for asking Caesar to tax neighbor A to "help" neighbor B.
The other thing they leave out is how they obtain their "giveaways" ... THEFT by force.
ReplyDeleteLast I checked, theft was a sin. But maybe I missed something somewhere.
Actually giving away other people's money is cheap virtue.
ReplyDeleteWhich is misleading because there is nothing virtuous about it at all.
My thoughts about it are along the lines of:
ReplyDelete"Who are you to take money from others to assuage your guilt?"
I wrote this years ago, but it still rings true.
ReplyDeleteWe have at least one clear description of the failure of Communism under optimal conditions. I refer, of course, to the Book of Acts, 4:32 - 5:11, Ananias and Sephira. NewLiving translation.
1. There is no doubt that they are practicing the economic system of communism:"All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had...There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them, and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need." From each according to his means, to each according to his need --- Marx would have been proud to call them brother.
2. They had as close to an incorruptible body of rulers as possible, who were proving their uprightness with miracles every day.
3. And they had pretty close to the ultimate Auditor; when Ananais and Sephira try to cheat the system, Peter knows about it instantly, and the punishment is swift and sure: the cheaters are struck dead on the spot.
And yet there were still cheaters, the apostles couldn't hold it together for very long, and none of the other churches outside Jerusalem seem to have even tried it. If the 12 Apostles backed up by God couldn't make communism work, how in the h*ll would any lesser mortals have a shot??
SDN
"If the 12 Apostles backed up by God couldn't make communism work, how in the h*ll would any lesser mortals have a shot??"
ReplyDeleteThe apostles were not taking collections for Cesar's bread & circus fund. They were collecting contributions for the church's persecuted and impoverished members. I know it's a distinction that you, most politicians, and many wrong-headed pastors don't recognize, but the apostles separated the work of the church from the state. You're right that lesser mortals could not make Communism work, but don't you dare cherry-pick scripture to make God and the apostles the authors of such an evil as Marxism.
TW
The key distinction between the early Christians and Communism is that the Christians gave voluntarily.
ReplyDeleteAnanaias and Saphira weren't destroyed for not giving enough but for lying. As Peter noted, the property was theirs to do with as they wished. They lied to the Holy Spirit and claimed that they gave it all. Starting off the church with liars was something God dealt with swiftly (aka the worst church growth program ever!).